Jury: Woman had ex-NFL player kill millionaire boyfriend in 1994

Nanette Packard waits for opening statements to begin in her trial in Santa Ana, Calif. on Monday, Jan. 9, 2012.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A woman was convicted Monday of arranging to have a former National Football League player kill her millionaire boyfriend more than a decade ago to collect on a $1 million life insurance policy and other cash.

Jurors found Nanette Ann Packard, 46, guilty of first-degree murder in the 1994 shooting death of Newport Beach mogul William McLaughlin and that she committed the crime for financial gain.

Former New England Patriots linebacker Eric Naposki was convicted of killing McLaughlin in a separate trial.

Kimberly McLaughlin, the victim's daughter, clasped her hands and whispered "thank you" to jurors as they exited the courtroom in Santa Ana.

"This is in honor of my dad and all of the many people this woman has used and abused," she told reporters after the verdict. "It's a lot of closure for us."

Packard, who wore a white sweater and had her long wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail, sat with her back to dozens of McLaughlin's supporters in the courtroom. Her attorney, Mick Hill, briefly patted her back after the verdict was read.

Prosecutors portrayed Packard as a femme fatale who had manipulated McLaughlin while living with him -- and dating other men --as she was stealing his money, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Prosecutors accused Packard of convincing Naposki to kill McLaughlin, giving him a key to the victim's house and telling him when he would be home. She stood to collect $1 million on a life insurance policy and receive other benefits if McLaughlin died, authorities said.

Packard ended up getting at least $500,000 from McLaughlin's estate and by writing checks to herself from his account, said Matt Murphy, deputy district attorney. On the day before the murder, Packard wrote a $250,000 check from McLaughlin's account and deposited it into her personal account, authorities said.

"In this case, we really had two motives: there was love and there was also money," Murphy told reporters, adding that Packard filed a civil suit against McLaughlin's family after his death in a bid to receive more cash. "She's a greedy thief who committed this murder for money."

Packard and Naposki are each scheduled to be sentenced on May 18. Both face a sentence of life in prison without parole, Murphy said.